Leatherheads is far from a touchdown, but you gotta give points to any movie where a character describes its climactic game as a 'muddy snoozefest.'
Comment
04/04/08
Leatherheads (2008)
52
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:161
Fresh:84
Rotten:77
Average Rating:5.8/10
Consensus: Despite a good premise and strong cast, this pro football romcom is half screwball and half fumble.
Theatrical Release:11-04-2008
Synopsis: From his casual charm to his cleft chin, George Clooney has frequently drawn comparisons to an actor of another age: Cary Grant. With his third directorial effort, the Oscar winner pays homage to... [More]
Starring: George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, John Krasinski, Jonathan Pryce
Director: George Clooney
Reviews for Leatherheads
Without anything else on its mind but to entertain, Leatherheads throws the equivalent of a cinematic touchdown.
04/04/08
It's easy to see what Clooney's going for, but hard to understand the choices he makes.
04/04/08
Zellweger and Clooney do have screwball chemistry, but the screenplay, by sportswriters Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly, is rife with scenes done better in the classic romantic comedies it admires.
04/04/08
Leatherheads goes on a good 20 minutes too long, and there's very little in it that makes a lasting impression, but it's easy to watch while it's unspooling -- much like, you know, a lot of Cary Grant comedies.
04/04/08
Clooney and Zellweger radiate intelligence and seem to take pleasure in each other's mental agility. Even when the lines are less than spectacular, the spark between the two actors is knowing and playful.
04/04/08
Top CriticArtificial as Leatherheads sometimes gets, it's grounded in modern screen naturalism. As in all of Clooney's directing efforts, there's also an ethical seriousness at its core.
04/04/08
Clooney can't quite decide what he wants to make. A retro screwball comedy? A romance? A rough-and-tumble underdogs farce? A parable about how we invent our heroes?
04/04/08
Pleasant and clever, Leatherheads is not built for surprises.
04/04/08
Everyone's too mannered, and most everything's too slow. Especially for a throwback.
04/04/08
Leatherheads a comedy of stock setups and kooky digressions in which nothing really comes to a head, and running at close to two hours, it lacks the essential brevity of the form.
04/04/08
No one's saying George Clooney isn't a dashing fellow. But his charm and affability only go so far in Leatherheads.
04/04/08
Even in a middling comedy such as this one, which he also directed, he's alarmingly ardent. Clooney is relying on the tremendous audience rapport he's built up over the years, and he's right to do so.
04/04/08
Film fans used to speculate about whether Clooney could become the Cary Grant of our time, and now we know he's our Clark Gable and William Holden and Dean Martin, too.
04/04/08
Top CriticThis is an unmade bed of a movie -- and ambiguous to a fault.
04/04/08
No director-star in movies has a better gut understanding of the Great American Circus and the lost glamour of masculine heroism than George Clooney.
04/04/08
Leatherheads is as trifling as Clooney's second movie (Good Night and Good Luck) was significant, but that's okay.
04/04/08
...a small, unassuming jewel.
04/04/08
"Zellweger's Lexie isn't some silly sexpot or spoiled simp; she's a thoroughly modern moll."
04/04/08
Leatherheads proves you can't make 'em like they used to, no matter how hard someone like George Clooney tries.
04/04/08
Latest News for Leatherheads
September 10, 2008:
An odd screen combo of insanely silly retro-screwball humor, the bumbling antics of a football team of attention deficit disorder, looney tunes Keystone jocks, and a smart-aleck, acid tongue reporter babe upstaging all those sweaty gents around her. 
More...
April 16, 2008:
UK Box Office Breakdown: Sony's 21 Gamble pays off
Gambling drama 21 cleans up at the UK box office this week, taking both the number one spot and twice-as-much cash as another film. George Clooney however should maybe stick to... More...
April 10, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Teens Dress Up For Prom Night
Multiplexes gear up for another weekend of empty seats as Hollywood supplies three new films that are unlikely to energize the North American box office. More...
April 07, 2008:
WGA, George Clooney at odds over Leatherheads credit
Clooney went financial core last fall, after the WGA decided 2-1 in a credit arbitration vote that only Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly deserved screen credit on the picture... More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
RT on YouTube
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
RT on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
IGN RSS Feeds